Cigar Review: CAO LX2 Lancero

CAO LX2

Today’s post comes courtesy of a new sponsor, CAO Cigars. Originially released as a limited edition the LX2 Lancero came as part of a package that consisted of a limited edition humidor along with 28 lancero smokes. With the lancero growing in popularity CAO will now release the LX2 lancero in March as a regular vitola in the line.

Cigar: CAO LX2
Origin: Nicaragua
Size: 7 x 39 (Lancero)
Wrapper: Nicaragua (Pueblo Nueva)
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua & Dominican

Appearance & Construction (18/20): The cigar features a flawless grade A wrapper and this lancero has a slightly toothy look to it. The cigar features a nicely done pigtail cap, and is slightly spongy to the touch. The bands on the cigar are a little bit over sized for a cigar of this size, but overall this is a nice looking lancero.

Flavor & Notes (27/30): The prelight draw offers some notes of chocolate which for me was different then the other sizes I have smoked. So I lit this baby up and dug into the 1st third of the smoke which revealed notes of pepper and earth with faint notes of chocolate in the background. As the second third is smoked, the pepper remains on the tongue and through the nose with some earth and nuttiness joining the party.  As we conclude our smoke notes of pepper and chocolate close it out with a touch of nuts mixed in for good measure.

Burn/Ash/Draw (21/25): Like many lancero cigars the prelight draw is perfect, the trick is keeping a lancero perfect all the way through. The draw might be slightly tough for some around the halfway point but I find if you sip a lancero the draw is much easier and more enjoyable. The crisp white ash held on strong which is a nice change from most lancero smokes I have experienced and the burn line is so crisp and straight it is visually pleasing.

Overall (23/25): The LX2 lancero is a very different experience compared to the other sizes offered. It is however a very enjoyable one, and despite the sipping action needed to enjoy the tight draw it is enjoyable and for me it makes me long for my pipe.

Rating: 89
Price: $6.00

LX2 Cigar Event at Barrister Cigars!

LX2 Puro Box

Last night I attended one of the best cigar events ever but earlier in the day I was unsure whether or not I would make it. With snow falling on a cold winter day and slowly turning to rain it was quickly becoming one big slushy frozen mess. As I pulled out of my driveway I slid some 20 feet on the ice and I was thinking, maybe I should not drive. If this was not a once in a lifetime event, perhaps I would not have.

The event was the deconstruction of the LX2, which is one of the greatest cigars ever produced by CAO. About 3 years ago a writer from Cigar Aficionado by the name of James Suckling was writing only about Cuban cigars. Realizing there was more to cigars then Cubans CAO President Tim Ozgener approached him to discuss how there are some great cigars being made in other places besides Cuba. He let him know how at the time they were using 41 different styles of tobacco,and Tim invited James to do a tasting.

Fast forward to the 2008 Big Smoke in Las Vegas and CAO hosted an event that broke down how the LX2 was created. The event so wildly popular that a standing ovation followed and lasted for quite some time. This was the event of a cigar connoisseurs dream, and I was lucky enough that my local B&M, Barrister Cigars was able to secure such an event, the first of it’s kind outside the convention.

Everyone in attendance was given a puro sampler box that contained 3 sample cigars each being 3.5 by 46, which according to Mr. Orzgener is ideal for tasting. We were then told about the 3 different regions that each ligero portion of the cigar came from. Dominican Piloto, Esti, and Pueblo Nueva. As we went through each puro stick we were informed about the blending process and how it leads to the tasting and creation of a new cigar. Each stick had certain characteristics and while Mr. Ozgener would not disclose the exact percentage of tobacco used to create the LX2 I had an idea in my mind by the time I was done. The final cigar in each box was a completed LX2 cigar which when smoked after the samples made it so simple to identify where each leaf was from, and how it adjusted the complexity of a cigar.

Joining the president of CAO Tim Ozgener were local CAO Rep Steve Faccenda, and Regional Sales Manager Frank Kapp, all of whom were the most gracious of people, easily accessible to any questions and gave you the in depth answer you wanted when it was possible.

The highlight of my evening came with I asked Tim Ozgener to sign the box the Puro Cigars came in. He graciously agreed, and pulled out his Sharpie. Below is the result;

Fan Sign!

While I am not sure if CAO plans to have more of these events I totally suggest you attend them if they do. It was the most informative event I ever attended, and despite considering myself knowledgeable on cigars I learned a lot from the from the seminar and loved every minute of it.

For those curious here is the break down of each puro;

Dominican Piloto: A very dry smoke, with some wood notes. I also picked up some dry coffee grounds, but I was in the minority when I shared that.

Esti: Some pepper through the nose, and notes similar to cayenne pepper started off this sample which was joined by a dark bitter bakers chocolate.

Pueblo Nueva: The wrapper of the smoke, and also used in the filler. This puro had spice to it, with a touch of saltiness.

My CAO LX2 review which I wrote in the summer of 2008 can be read here.

Review: CAO LX2

It’s been too long between reviews and for that I apologize. The last few days I have had to start work early, do car repairs and one day I just didn’t want to wake up. Unless I smoke in the AM or early evening in seclusion I won’t do a review so I had to neglect the blog for a few days.

I had a family BBQ today and took a cigar gifted to me by someone at the cigar show in Las Vegas. I made my way through the woods and sat by the lake with today’s stick. The CAO LX 2 is probably one of the most anticipated cigars of the year. The LX2 stand for Ligero x 2. Ligero comes from the top half of the tobacco plant and receives the most sunlight of the plant. The direct sunlight enhances the strength of the tobacco and results in a higher level of nicotine. So if you are prone to that light headed queasy feeling have something sweet before you smoke one of these.

The Skinny:

Cigar: CAO LX2
Origin: Nicaragua
Size: 5 x 48 Robusto
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

Pre-Light: A few people have reviewed these cigars and they all pretty much suggested the cigar needed some aging time, so I let it age a week. I wanted to go longer, but really wanted to try this stick. At first appearance it doesn’t look all that. The cap is slightly sloppy, the wrapper has more veins visible then any cigar I can think of and there is so much bumpiness to the cigar that a blind man might think he is reading moby dick. The scent at the foot was nutty with some slight pepper, while the wrapper had something I couldn’t really define and was very oily. The pre-light draw revealed some earth. One note about the band, when I first saw the ad campaign I was very impressed with the design. With the cigar in hand the band is even more impressive and it’s a nice piece of art.

Smoke: Cigar Jack was the first person to review this cigar and one thing he stated was the cigar had notes of jalapeño peppers which made me wonder what he smoked prior to the LX2 but right away on the first third of the smoke I picked up some really hot pepper. However, I wouldn’t call it jalapeño I would say it was closer to cayenne pepper. The other notes of the cigar were a sweet creamy chocolate, and some nuttiness. The cayenne pepper came and went and was most noticeable in the first and last third of the stick. Despite the questionable appearance of the cigar it smoked really well, needing no touch ups, and while the burn line was slightly jagged it was extremely acceptable.

Overall: I used a punch cut on this cigar to limit the smoke intake because of how strong everyone said these cigars are. I believe due to the fact I used to hole punch the cigar appeared to be more medium bodied to me. As I said in my preface this cigar is highly anticipated and should live up to the hype for most people. It is to date the best CAO I have ever smoked, and I consider myself a big fan of their smokes. If the appearance was better it would of scored 2-3 points higher.

My Local Price: TBD (Not yet available)
Rating: 91 (Out of 100)